The NYT recommends getting a mobile phone for children who are just about to enter teens:

“Cellphones are now more or less mandatory for children at this age. Besides providing a social advantage, phones can reduce parental stress in a crowded mall, get children in touch for homework help, serve as a call to dinner — and be withheld as punishment that really works.

Parenting skills for this age include reading phone bills. Lori McCoughey of Mahwah, N.J., a mother of two, saved $200 a month by switching to Verizon’s friends and family plan. There are also pay-as-you-go plans like those from Tracfone. For $50, you get a working LG 225 camera phone, preloaded with 100 minutes. A meter counts down the remaining time.” Link.

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